PPL not to be an IPL carbon copy: PCB

The cricket board in Karachi is toying with ideas like allowing five foreigners in the playing XI of a participating team.

In a conscious effort to ensure that the proposed Pakistan Premier League (PPL) does not look like a carbon copy of the hugely successful IPL, the cricket board in Karachi is toying with ideas like allowing five foreigners in the playing XI of a participating team.

"We want the PPL to be a bit different from the Indian Premier League. We want the PPL to be distinguished by itself. We plan to announce our concept and plans during or after the Asia Cup," Shafqat Naghmi, the PCB chief operating officer, told the 'Samaa' television channel on Friday.

Naghmi said a number of ideas have been discussed with the companies in a meeting in Singapore to make next year's PPL a bit different from the IPL.

"We don't want to exactly copy the IPL. So we are thinking about allowing teams to play five overseas players instead of four in the IPL," he said.

He said another difference would be that there would be around five teams in the PPL and the sides would be advised to sign overseas players from one country. "Say one team would have only Australian players and the other from India," he explained.